A new edition of the Bible known as the “Couple’s Bible” was introduced during the meetings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Executive Committee’s Annual Council in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, on October 14, 2019. The new edition of the Bible was developed by Spain’s Editorial Safeliz publishing house, in partnership with the Family Ministries department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
“This new edition of the Bible includes numerous resources and study tools,” said Safeliz president and CEO Mario Martinelli in introducing the edition to Executive Committee members. “It has been specially prepared for couples at different stages of their life,” he added.
Martinelli explained that the Couple’s Bible contains special resources to help couples better understand God’s plan for marriage and how to attain fulfillment and happiness in marriage. At the same time, he mentioned some of the unique features of this new edition, including introductory pages and Bible verses especially for couples.
“The introductory pages include notable articles about marriage in the Bible, the biblical theology of the family, and habits for long-lasting marriages,” Martinelli said.
This New King James Version edition also comes with more than 170 articles divided into five sections, such as “Strong Marriages and United Families” (articles on love and communication); “Facing Challenges” (about issues like abuse, forgiveness, favoritism, addictions, and divorce); and “Happy Marriage” (articles from passages in the Bible that provide tools to help couples obtain balance and happiness in marriage). Two additional sections, “Keys to Successful Parenting” and “Marriage in the Bible,” add to what editors hope is a practical and down-to-earth approach to God’s Word.
“It is our hope this new edition of the Bible can help strengthen the marriage bond and relationships within the family,” said Willie Oliver, who, together with his wife, Elaine, lead the Family Ministries department for the Adventist Church. It is one more feature, the Olivers said, in the year-long celebration of 100 years of the Adventist Church’s efforts to help couples and families to thrive.
In the case of the Couple’s Bible, besides features common to study Bible editions, such as highlighting the words of Jesus in color and providing illustrated maps of biblical lands, this new edition has an added “Home and Family” course with 14 study topics especially focused on couples. It also features 101 ideas for family evangelism; relevant topics for the couple; sensitive issues of the Bible; and Bible reading plans, leaders said.
A brief promotional video shared with the members of the Executive Committee highlights that the Couple’s Bible includes a dictionary of marriage vocabulary and other relevant words, and 22 illustrated pages with couples of the Bible like Abram and Sarai, Elkanah and Hannah, Peter and his wife, and Samson and Delilah, among others.
At the end of the October 14 introduction of the Couple’s Bible, church leaders prayed for God to bless Christian families through the reading and studying of the new Bible, as Executive Committee members were invited to take a complimentary copy.
“May the Lord who created couples and families add His blessing to the reading of His Word,” they said.